Princess Anne made history this week by taking part in the Vigil of Princes, following the death of her mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
On Friday (16 September), the Princess Royal participated in a second, 15-minute vigil at Westminster Hall, as Elizabeth’s children – led by King Charles III – stood solemnly around the coffin of Britain’s longest-reigning monarch.
The only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II, who died on 8 September,was with the Queen in her final hours at Balmoral and also accompanied the hearse from Scotland to Buckingham Palace – calling the journey “an honour and a privilege”.
“I was fortunate to share the last 24 hours of my dearest mother’s life,” Anne said, remaining by the late monarch’s side in death, as she has nearly all her life.
The birth of a princess
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip’s second child and only daughter, Princess Anne Elizabeth Alice Louise, was born at Clarence House on 15 August 1950.
Both she and Charles, who was born on 14 November, 1948, were young children when Elizabeth ascended to the throne 70 years ago on 6 February 1952.
Queen Elizabeth II was often away on royal duties during their early years. In 1953, when Anne was just three, the Queen undertook an extensive tour of the Commonwealth – visiting 13 nations, including Australia, Jamaica, and Uganda, over six months.
The early years
However, the Queen’s family life was marked by moments of levity, the same way memories of her unwavering commitment to the throne are etched over it.
Ahead of the platinum jubilee celebrations to commemorate Elizabeth’s 70-year reign, the Queen opened up her home video library – including hundreds of home-made recordings which have been held privately by the Royal Collection in the British Film Institute (BFI) vaults – to the BBC.
Introducing the 75-minute programme, the Queen said: “Private photos can often show the fun behind the formality.
“I expect just about every family has a collection of photographs or films that were once regularly looked at to recall precious moments but which, over time, are replaced by newer images and more recent memories,” she continued, adding, “You always hope that future generations will find them interesting, and perhaps be surprised that you too were young once.”
Among the rare moments captured on film, Princess Anne can be seen giggling, throwing her rattle aside and trying to eat pebbles at the shore of a loch.
In photographs, the Queen’s outspoken and quick-witted daughter has been captured on holiday in Balmoral with the Queen when she was two. The royal mother-daughter duo can be seen enjoying the Badminton Horse Trials in Gloucestershir when Elizabeth was 10. They attended the Marquess of Hamilton and Sacha Phillips’ wedding when Anne was 16.
Anne’s physical resemblance to her mother was widely noted during a state visit to Austria, when Queen Elizabeth and Anne were photographed standing side-by-side at the Hotel Imperial in Vienna on 7 May 1969.
Princess Anne also shared the Queen’s love of dog. She was often photographed, as a young child, alongside the monarch’s beloved corgis in the Fifties and Sixties.
The 70s onwards
As she grew older, Princess Anne began accompanying the Queen on her royal tours. In 1970, she travelled to New Zealand and Australia with Elizabeth for a two-month visit.
The princess and Britain’s late monarch shared common leisure interests, including a passion for horses and the outdoors. After Anne won the three-day horse trials in Burghley on 5 September 1971, Queen Elizabeth proudly presented its trophy to her daughter.
The “famously outdoorsy and no-frills royal” became the first member of Britain’s royal family to compete in the Olympics. At the 1976 Montreal Olympic Games, she rode the Queen’s horse Goodwill in the equestrian three-day event, according to a statement on the royal family’s website.
When Princess Anne married her first husband, fellow Olympics horse rider Mark Phillips in 1973, her beaming mother was photographed alongside the couple in the official royal portrait.
Anne was the first of the Queen’s children to start her own family. At the coronation of Anne and Mark’s son Peter, Elizabeth was photographed smiling at her grandson, while he lay in Anne’s lap.
Queen Elizabeth bestows on Anne the title of Princess Royal
Princess Anne was granted the title of Princess Royal by Elizabeth in 1987, shortly before her 37th birthday. The title is usually reserved for the monarch’s eldest daughter, and is the highest honorary title for a female member of the royal family.
‘Annus horribilus’
It was perhaps the lowest point of her reign, a year of royal scandal and turmoil now forever known as the one the Queen dubbed her annus horribilis.
In 1992, Prince Charles (now King Charles) was warring with his wife, Princess Diana. The Duke and Duchess of York separated, Princess Anne divorced her husband, Windsor Castle went up in flames and suffered extensive damage, and public opinion turned against the royals.
Acknowledging that the monarchy should not be above criticism, the Queen effectively pleaded for a fairer hearing from press and public with a pledge to work for change, while maintaining the institution’s stability and continuity.
From 2002 to the present day
The Princess Royal came out in strong support of the Queen over the public perception that Elizabeth was an uncaring mother.
In an interview with the BBC, two decades ago, the outspoken princess affirmed that Her Majesty loved her children and cared for them “as any other mother” would.
“I simply don’t believe that there is any evidence whatsoever to suggest that she wasn’t caring. It just beggars belief,” Anne said, adding, “We as children may have not been too demanding in the sense that we understand what the limitations were in time and the responsibilities placed on her as monarch in the things she had to do and the travels she had to make.
“But I don’t believe any of us for a second thought she didn’t care for us in exactly the same way as any other mother did.”
Dubbed the “most hard-working royal”, Princess Anne wore her commitment to her position as sincerely as her late mother, juggling her royal engagements with various charitable pursuits.
As the whole world transitioned from in-person meetings to Zoom and FaceTime calls amid Covid-induced lockdowns in 2020, a clip of Princess Anne teaching the Queen how to video call was shared online.
The clip was part of ITV’s documentary Anne: The Princess Royal, which was released in 2020 in honour of her 70th birthday.
“Ah. Good morning at Windsor,” Princess Anne addressed her mother during the Queen’s first public video call.
Elizabeth replied: “Good morning. I’m very glad to have been able to join you.”
Anne then asked Her Majesty: “Can you see everybody? You should have six people on your screen.”
“Yes, well I can see four anyway,” the Queen responded, before the princess quipped: “Actually, you don’t need me. You know what I look like!”
Royal fans were quick to praise Princess Anne for her humour after the video was posted on social media. Several others resonated with the relatable video, relaying their own experiences of having to help older relatives get to grips with modern technology during lockdown.
The following year, Anne and Elizabeth were photographed during a visit to an outdoor children’s center in Glasgow.
Following the Queen’s death on 8 September, the BBC released a tribute video to Elizabeth, which featured her children.
During the moving programme, the Princess Royal honoured the Queen, saying: “She was always the Queen because that was really important for all of us, but she was always my mother so that is how you would remember her.”
She also said her mother’s definition of service to the nation was “a lifetime, literally 24/7, 365 days a year – it was never something you could turn on or turn off”.
Follow the latest updates ahead of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral here
